temperature checked each time we enter anywhere, all seem to have become our routine, or what people call “ the new normal “.

Each time I tune into an International News channel on TV or pick up the Newspaper, the headlines talk of the number of new cases being added in India, and the daily Covid case addition number currently is around 50000. The daily addition number in itself looks huge and the total case number of 1.8 million cases is undoubtedly a large one, but, then when I start to look at these numbers in the perspective of our population and our demographics, it’s really not that bad. Given that we have a population of 1.3 billion +, this translates to about 1300 per million , and as a comparison , the Spanish count of 344,000 cases translates to 7000 per million, the UK count of 305,000 translates to about 4500 per million, the Italian count of 248,000 translates to about 4000 per million. When we look at it in this perspective, the situation in India doesn’t seem to be all that bad. In addition, our recovery rate is among the best in the world, so that is some consolation.

Now, looking at it in relation to tourism, I’ve tried to analyze where we stand with our Tourism hotspots in India. Delhi, the most frequently used tourism gateway city, is among the worst affected sits at 138,000 cases with a population of over 20 million. Rajasthan, a major attraction for travelers, the state that houses Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur has about 45000 cases, with a population of over 80 million. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh (or UP as we call it), the state that is home to both, the Taj Mahal in Agra, and the holy city of Varanasi has 97000 cases with a population in excess of 240 million (actually more than the combined population of 5 of the most populous European countries), Goa, India’s most popular beach destination has only 7000 cases with a population of over 1.5 million. Similarly, Madhya Pradesh (or MP as we call it), which is home to most of India’s best known Tiger Reserves, has a case count of 34000 , with a population of 85 million. Kerala, the most popular tourist destination in Southern India, has 26000 cases in a population of over 35 million. Between these 5 or 6 states, over 50% of the popular Indian Tourism product and destinations are all covered, and when we actually read these numbers, they don’t look too bad.

Looking at the numbers for the other destinations that we promote, as of now Nepal, known for its culture and ofcourse the trekkers paradise has only 6000 active cases, Bhutan, the Last Shangri-La, has only 13 active cases, and the emerald isle of Sri-Lanka has just about 300 active cases. In short, Nepal, Bhutan as well as Sri Lanka are kind of waiting in the wings to reopen for tourism, and are likely to make positive announcements soon.

All of us in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry are hopeful of the Indian Government easing the travel restrictions soon, and also hopeful that the foreign governments from major source markets will remove India from the “negative” or “do not travel” lists, and things will slowly but surely limp back to normal.

In the meantime, stay healthy and stay safe.

Kapil Goswamy
Managing Director